JP2006518078A - Method for automatic configuration of a processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for automatic configuration of a processing system United States Patent Application 20070228405 Kind Code: A1 An automatic process control (APC) system for a semiconductor manufacturing environment is automatically generated with an autoconfiguration script generated to execute an autoconfiguration program. How to configure. The autoconfiguration script activates default values for input to the autoconfiguration program. The autoconfiguration script is executed to generate a usable parameter file output from the autoconfiguration program. The available parameter file identifies the parameters for statistical process control (SPC) chart generation.

Description

(Cross-reference of related applications)
This international application is a US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 448,319 entitled “Method for automatic configuration of processing system” filed on Feb. 18, 2003. And the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 491,286, entitled “Method for automatic configuration of processing system” filed on July 31, 2003. The contents of both are claimed and incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

  The present invention is a provisional application entitled “Method and apparatus for the monitoring and control of semiconductor manufacturing process” filed on September 30, 2002, entitled “Method and apparatus for the monitoring for the manufacturing of the semiconductor manufacturing process”. No. 60 / 414,425, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 393,104, filed Jul. 3, 2002, entitled “Method and apparatus for automatic sensor installation”. No., filed July 3, 2002, "Method for Dynamic Sensor Configuration and Runtime Execution (Met US Provisional Application No. 60 / 393,091 entitled “Od for Dynamic Sensor Configuration and Runtime Execution”, “Method and Apparatus for Monitoring Tool Performance” filed May 29, 2002. US Provisional Application No. 60 / 383,619 entitled “For Monitoring Tool Performance”, filed April 23, 2002, “Method and Apparatus for Simulated System Configuration”. U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 374,486, issued March 29, 2002 US Provisional Application No. 60 / 368,162 entitled "Method for interaction with status and control apparatus" and on August 20, 2002 Related to US Provisional Application No. 60 / 404,412 entitled “Method for processing data based on the data content”. The entire contents of all of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

  The present invention relates to a method for automatic configuration of a processing system, and more particularly to a method for automatically configuring a processing system for run-to-run control.

  Computers are generally used for manufacturing processes, such as control, monitoring, and / or initialization of semiconductor manufacturing plant operations. Various input / output (I / O) devices are used to control and monitor process flows, wafer status, and maintenance schedules. Various tools exist in semiconductor manufacturing plants to complete these complex steps from critical operations such as material etching, material deposition, and device inspection. Most tool installations are accomplished using a display screen that is part of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the control computer that contains the installation software. Installation of semiconductor processing tools is a time consuming procedure.

  For semiconductor processing, processing status changes overtime hours. In many cases, changes in process data that reflect a deterioration in processing characteristics cannot be detected simply by referring to the displayed process data. It is difficult to detect early process abnormalities and characteristic deterioration. Often, the prediction and pattern recognition provided by advanced process control (APC) is necessary.

  Equipment control is performed by many different control systems, usually with various controllers. Some control systems have a man-machine interface such as a touch screen, while others only collect and display one process variable. The monitoring system must be able to collect the data represented for the process control system. Monitoring system data collection includes various data sets including univariate and multivariate data, various data processes including data analysis and data display, and / or the ability to select process variables to be collected. The various data selection capabilities that must be handled must be handled. If the process data is automatically displayed and detected, the optimal processing conditions for the mass production line can be set and controlled through a statistical process control (SPC) chart. Inefficient monitoring of a facility can lead to facility downtime that increases the overall operational cost.

  A method for automatic configuration of a processing system comprises generating an autoconfiguration script for executing an autoconfiguration program.

  The autoconfiguration script activates default values for input to the autoconfiguration program. The autoconfiguration script is executed to generate an enabled parameter file output from the autoconfiguration program. The available parameter file identifies the parameters for statistical process control (SPC) chart generation.

  FIG. 1 shows a typical block diagram of an APC system in a semiconductor manufacturing environment. In the system shown, the semiconductor manufacturing environment 100 includes a semiconductor processing tool 110, a number of process modules 120, PM1 to PM4, sensors 130, a sensor interface 140, and an APC system 145. For example, the sensor 130 may be an optical emission spectroscopy (OES) sensor for monitoring plasma conditions, a voltage / current probe (VIP) for monitoring RF signals, and / or other process parameters such as pressure, mass flow rate. And analog sensors for temperature measurement. The APC system 145 can include an interface server (IS) 150, an APC server 160, a client workstation 170, a GUI 180 and a database 190. For example, the IS 150 can include a real-time memory database that can be viewed as a “hub”.

  In addition, for example, the APC server 145 can connect to an intranet, which further provides an internet server (not shown) for accessing the internet. An intranet may provide connectivity at, for example, a customer site, such as a device manufacturer site. Furthermore, the APC system 145 can be accessed, for example, remotely, by a computer system (not shown) located remotely at a vendor site, such as a device manufacturer. A remotely installed computer system can access data on the APC system and can provide control information to the APC system 145 via the Internet.

  In the system shown, a single tool 110 is shown with four process modules 120. The APC system 145 can be connected to a number of processing tools including a cluster tool having one or more process modules. For example, the tool can be used to perform etching, deposition, diffusion, coating, oxidation, cleaning, ashing, measurement, transfer, loading and unloading processes. Furthermore, the APC system 145 can collect, process, store, display, input and output data from these processing tools, process modules and sensors.

  In addition, a tool agent (not shown) that can be a software process running on the tool 110 and that can provide event information, context information and start / stop timing commands used to synchronize the tool process and data collection. The processing tool 110 can be provided. The APC system 145 can also include an agent client (not shown) that can be a software process that can be used to provide a connection to the tool agent.

  In this embodiment, the APC server 160 automates the configuration of the APC system so that automatic creation of a statistical process control (SPC) chart can be immediately configured and used in the next installation. During installation, the software installer may need to provide information regarding the hardware configuration (eg, IP address, number and type of process module 120). During installation, the system can be automatically configured for default data collection. The default configuration can allow data collection of all tool level trace parameters as well as the calculation of all summary parameters. Alternatively, the default configuration can also include at least one external sensor.

  After installation, the APC system can be automatically configured for fault detection using SPC run rule evaluation. Each of the available summary statistics (average, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, etc.) for each of the available trace parameters is a candidate for automatic SPC chart generation. Tool level trace parameters can include, for example, measured and reported values of process variables for etching systems, gas flow rates, high frequency power, RF reflected power, peak-to-peak voltage, pressure, temperature, and the like. The mapping of available parameters and statistics to available parameters is based on installer or operator recommendations and process specific requirements.

  If the parameter selection is changed, the automatic configuration can be re-executed at any time after the installation.

  Once installed, when a new recipe is experienced at run time, the SPC chart automatically tracks to control and uncontrollable usable parameters during process steps (eg RF steps in an etching system). Can be created. Controlled parameters include trace parameters with set points. These parameters are controlled by the tool within some tolerance based on the percentage deviation from the setpoint or the absolute deviation from the setpoint. For a given recipe and process step, any controlled parameter can have a setpoint that is zero. In this case, the percentage deviation from the setpoint technique cannot be used because it requires division by zero. Uncontrolled parameters include trace parameters without setpoints. The values of these parameters generally depend on the controlled parameter setpoint. After a configurable number of wafers have been accumulated in an automatically generated chart, the upper and lower controls, if an autocalculation flag is available for that parameter The limits can be calculated automatically, and the available charts for alarms are based on SPC execution rule evaluation.

  During installation, the installer provides information about the hardware configuration of the tool, including the type of module being installed. For example, many questions can be used and the installer can be answered. Selection of a particular type of process module then automatically configures the default data collection plan for that process module. The default data collection plan is based on information provided by the installer, process engineer, and possibly process requirements. Not all specified parameters of the data collection plan are available for automatic SPC chart creation. A list of parameters that can be used for automatic SPC charting can be provided by the autoconfiguration script and based on the most well-known practices or process requirements. The autoconfiguration script can be executed any time after the installation.

  A default selection of available parameters is provided based on the best known practices. However, the installer can exceed the default value using an autoconfiguration data file, such as an Excel spreadsheet, provided to select a different set of available parameters. Available parameters are those parameters selected for automatic SPC chart creation.

  The initial value for the enable / disable flag is set by an autoconfiguration script based on a selection made in an autoconfiguration data file, eg, an autoconfiguration Excel spreadsheet.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart 200 showing these interrelationships. For example, an autoconfiguration data file containing available parameters can be created by the installer using a spreadsheet at 210, and a CSV (Comma Separated Values: CSV) file 230 with available parameters is , 220. The list of available parameters 230 is read by the autoconfiguration program 240 upon execution of the autoconfiguration script 250, where the information provided in the CSV file 230 exceeds the default values and is usable. The table of valid parameters 260 is generated in a persistent database.

  In addition, the autoconfiguration script can do any of the following: (1) Request information about tool configuration to support this feature as needed; (2) Module Configure a default data collection plan per process module based on the choice of type of installer; (3) base the default data collection plan on the best known practices as provided by the operator (or installer); (4) Providing a default data collection plan to include default step trimming information; (5) Auto-configuration data file, eg Ex based on module type and best known practice Providing the system with the necessary information to select parameters that can be used for automatic SPC charting using an el spreadsheet; (6) A default set of available parameters at any time in the next installation Providing the possibility of exchanging with a set provided by the process user, where the exchange set of parameters can be specified in an autoconfiguration data file, eg an Excel spreadsheet; (7 Providing the possibility of a list of parameters that can be used for automatic SPC charting of persistent databases; and / or (8) enabling / disabling “automatic SPC charting”. To provide a system level mechanism.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart describing a method 300 for automatic creation of an SPC chart. At 305, an automatic SPC algorithm is initiated, and at 310, an auto creation mode query is performed; for example, an installer or operator can be prompted to answer one or more questions. Otherwise, the method 300 ends at 360. If automatic create mode is required, a decision is made at 315 to identify those parameters for which the SPC chart is to be automatically generated.

  At 320, the eligibility of each parameter for SPC charting is evaluated. If a parameter is considered ineligible, the next parameter is addressed at 345. If the parameter is considered eligible, a query is performed to determine if an SPC chart exists for the parameter at 325. If not, then an SPC chart is generated at 330 and the next parameter is targeted at 345. If an SPC chart exists, the parameters are posted at 335 on the SPC chart.

  At 340, a query is performed to determine if a control limit exists for the given SPC chart. If a control limit exists, the next parameter is targeted at 345. If no control limit exists, then a query is performed to determine if the SPC chart owns a sufficient number of data points at 350 to calculate the control limit. In that case, the control limit is then calculated at 355. If not, then the next parameter is targeted at 345. If the last parameter is checked at 345 and there are no additional parameters, then the method 300 ends at 360.

  For example, parameters representative of process steps such as RF steps in the etching process are automatically posted on the appropriate SPC chart. If the chart does not exist, it is automatically generated, albeit without upper and lower control limits. A new chart is generated for each combination of module, recipe, parameter and process step. So if there are 10 parameters and 50 recipes, each with 5 process steps, this process is 2500 SPC charts (the number of generated SPC charts is the number of parameters times the number of recipes multiplied by the number of recipes) Which is the result of the number of process steps in the recipe. Automatically generated SPC charts must be distinguishable from manually generated charts. SPC charts where the upper and lower control limits have not been set are not subject to run rule evaluation and so no alarm is generated. Thus, a new chart is generated for each module, new recipe, for each available parameter, and for each process step experienced. The generated chart is then accessed by the user (using the GUI) in the same way as a manually generated SPC chart.

  Additional embodiments of the autoconfiguration system for automatic generation of SPC charts for univariant parameters representative of process steps can include any of the following: (1) Each process step includes: “Summary parameter value (eg, step during which high frequency power is transmitted to lower electrode) is greater than threshold” is defined as; (2) Graphic User Interface (GUI) is used by user to define process steps (3) The GUI can be used to allow the user to select a threshold; (4) When a new recipe is experienced at runtime, “Automatic SPC chart creation” is “available” and the chart is already If not present (manually or automatically generated), a chart can be automatically generated for each available parameter representing the RF step; (5) each available The parameters can have a flag to indicate the limit setting either manually or automatically; (6) When “Automatic Limit” is selected, first the generated chart will have an upper or lower control limit And run rule evaluation may not be available; (7) If “manual limit” is selected, the limit for each chart generated is based on the value entered in the spreadsheet Can be configured and run rule evaluation can be used according to the run rule evaluation settings (8) The name of the automatically generated SPC chart can be unique; (9) The SPC chart generated thereby can be edited using the normal SPC chart GUI (10) In addition to SPC charts, analysis plans and strategies can be automatically generated; (11) the associated analysis plans and strategies generated thereby are usually (12) The automatically generated SPC chart may be identifiable by the user from the manually generated chart; (13) Relevant analysis plans and strategies that are automatically generated can be derived from manually generated analysis plans and strategies. And / or (14) alarms generated by it can be ordered by notifications and interventions based on the settings default notifications and interventions for the “RF Step Parameters” SPC chart. Can be generated one after another.

  It should be noted that the automatically generated SPC chart appears in the analysis strategy (analysis strategy) in the same manner as the manually generated SPC chart. Once generated, the population of charts occurs regardless of the state of the “automatic SPC chart creation” flag. So, once generated, each SPC chart can be manually unassociated from the analysis strategy, and the GUI can extract the analysis plan and chart from the analysis strategy once the population is no longer required. Means can be provided that are unrelated.

  In order to facilitate the automatic creation of SPC charts and control limits, the limits can be automatically calculated based on the standard deviation of the points assigned to the chart. In this example, parameters representing process steps, eg RF steps in an etching system, are automatically posted on the appropriate SPC chart. Once the number of points on the chart reaches a configurable value (eg, a sufficient number for statistical practice), the average and standard deviation of those points are automatically calculated. The automatic calculation routine removes points that are not representative of the data set before calculating the average and standard deviation. The number of points prior to the calculation of the limit is specified by “required number of points before automatic calculation” and is specified for each parameter. The required number of points can be the next or previous installation acquired, or include points obtained during the pre-population of the database during the installation. Database pre-population can occur, for example, for tools that store historical data prior to an APC system installation. The average and standard deviation thus calculated are then used to calculate the upper and lower control limits of the SPC chart.

  Two techniques are available for automatic calculation of control limits, ie as a percentage of the mean and as a multiple of the standard deviation from the mean. The upper limit may be calculated as a percentage above the average value, for example 5% to 10%, or as a specified multiple of the standard deviation in addition to the average value, for example 2-6σ. The lower limit can be calculated as a percentage below the average value, for example 5% to 10%, or as a specified multiple of the standard deviation minus the average value, for example 2-6σ. The percentage used or the multiple used is specified per parameter, and the GUI screen can provide a means for entering and / or editing the percentage and multiple. In addition, the alert limit can also be provided on some SPC chart and can be determined in a similar manner.

  In an alternative embodiment, a new upper control limit (UCL) and a new lower control limit (LCL) are determined for the current substrate run as part of the old value for the previous substrate run and as part of the calculated value as described above. Is done. For example, the new control limit is updated to use the old value for the current observation (ie substrate run), the calculated value for the current observation (ie substrate run), and the filter constant, Application of modified filters, such as exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) filters, can be included.

UCL _new = (1-λ) UCL _old + λ (UCL _calculated ), (1a)
LCL _new = (1-λ) LCL _old + λ (LCL _calculated ), (1b)
Where λ is the EWMA filter coefficient (0 ≦ λ ≦ 1), UCL _old and LCL _old are the (old) control limit values for the previous run, UCL _{CalCalculated} and LCL _Calculated are calculated as above for the current run. Control limit value. Note that when λ = 0, the new control limit value is equal to the old control limit value, and when λ = 1, the new control limit value is equal to the calculated control limit value.

  After the control limits are established, run rule evaluation (which run rule is used) is specified per parameter. Once the upper and lower control limits are established, run rule evaluation is available for that chart for a given chart. In addition, for a given chart, when the upper and lower warning limits are determined, the run rule evaluation can also include cases based on the warning limits.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for automatic calculation of control limits for a given SPC chart. At 405, the automatic calculation algorithm is started. At 410, the average and standard deviation are calculated for the data shown in the SPC chart. At 415, data outliers are detected and optionally removed at 420.

  At 425, a determination of the type of control limit established is made. If standard deviation is used, the upper control limit (UCL) is calculated using 430, UCL = mean + factor * standard deviation, and the lower control limit (LCL) is 435, LCL = mean-factor * Calculated using standard deviation. Here the factor is chosen to multiply by the number of standard deviations, eg 3. If the average percentage is used, the upper control limit (UCL) is calculated using 440, UCL = mean + percentage * mean, and the lower control limit (LCL) is 445, LCL = mean-percentage * Calculated using mean. In an alternative embodiment, as described above, the new control limit is set using the calculated value for the current substrate run, the old value for the previous substrate run, and the EWMA filter, for example.

  At 450, the run rule is available, and at 455, the automatic calculation algorithm is terminated. As another embodiment, a similar method can be used to determine a warning limit.

  Additional embodiments of the autoconfiguration system for automatic calculation of SPC limits for parameters representative of process steps can include any of the following: (1) The “Automatic SPC chart calculation” flag is “available” Once the automatic SPC chart accumulates the “number of points” that can be set, the average and standard deviation of the data set can be calculated automatically; (2) The automatic calculation of the average and standard deviation is Points that are determined to be outliers or that are not representative of the data can be excluded; (3) The number of points that need to be triggered by the automatic calculation of average and standard deviation is: Can be specified by the “number of points” parameter; (4) The GUI enters the “number of points” parameter (5) The input “number of points” parameter may be a number greater than 3; (6) the limit is based on a percentage deviation from the average, or a multiple of a factor The flag can specify which calculation should be used per parameter; (7) If the standard deviation option is selected, the upper control limit is (8) If the standard deviation option is selected, the lower control limit can be calculated as a "multiple" of the average minus standard deviation; (9) The GUI can be calculated as a "multiple" of the average plus standard deviation; May be available to enter a “multiple” (or factor) to use in the calculation; (10) The GUI may be available to enter a “percentage” (%) to use in the limit calculation; (11) The GUI may be available to select which calculation method to use. (12) After the control limits are set, run rule evaluation may be enabled; (13) Run rule selection (which run rule to evaluate) may be specified by a parameter; (14) The run rule selection (which run rule should be evaluated) may be editable using the GUI; and / or (15) the automatically determined limit is the normal SPC chart GUI It may be possible to use and edit. The parameter can be, for example, univariate or multivariate.

  Alternatively, the autoconfiguration system can provide the ability to automatically create an SPC chart during the stability step period. The stability step period includes a stability step that allows the process module condition to become stable before processing begins. The duration of the stability step is variable and depends on the recipe settings and the process module state. The tool recipe specifies the maximum length of time that a particular process parameter, such as the pressure of the etching system, stabilizes. Since the trace parameters are changing during the stability step, the normal step summary parameters (average, standard deviation, minimum value, maximum value) have few values.

  One “stability step period” SPC chart per module may be included by default. By default, the “Stability Step” SPC chart is associated with a “Stability Step Duration” parameter per module. Control limits are specified by the “Stability Step” SPC chart per module.

  Additional embodiments of the auto-configuration system for automatic generation of SPC charts for the stability step period can include any of the following: (1) In the following, the stability step is “summary parameter value ( For example, it is defined as “a step while transmitting high frequency power to the lower electrode” is below a threshold; (2) The GUI is used by the user to define a process step, eg, an RF step in an etching system. (3) The GUI may be available so that the user can select a threshold; (4) The system may determine the duration of the stability step. The ability to generate a single parameter that is expressed and defined as the duration of the stability step in seconds (5) At run time, for each selected stability step, a new summary variable representation for the duration of the stability step can be generated and the result is the summary calculation table ( (6) the stability step period chosen by it can be maintained in a persistent database and an in-memory database; (7) An SPC chart per process module can be generated for posting of the stability step period; (8) Each stability step period parameter can be changed to a “stability step period per process module”. "Posting on the SPC chart is (9) By default, the lower and upper control limits of this chart are set to the default "Stability Step Period" SPC "Chart" generated for this purpose. Limits can be set; (10) The GUI can be made available to allow the user to change the control limits below and above the “Stability Step Period” SPC “chart”; (11) “ The context information (tool, process module, recipe, step, parameter, value, date / time) of each point sent to the “stability step period” SPC “chart” may be available from the SPC chart database; 12) “Stability step period” sent to SPC chart Context information for each point may be seen from the SPC chart; (13) At run time, each point that violates the SPC run rule can generate an “alert”; (14) The available interventions and notifications performed on this alert may be similar to current SPC interventions and notifications; (15) The alert may include context information of the wafer on which the alert occurred; and / or ( 16) Default intervention and notification may be specified by the “Default intervention and notification during the stability step period” SPC chart. The SPC chart can be of univariate or multivariate data.

  Alternatively, the autoconfiguration system can provide the ability to automatically create SPC charts during the JUST PROCESS step period. If selected in the list of available parameters, a chart can be generated for each non-zero occurrence of the parameter “just process”. In principle, there can be just as much process time as there are steps. In practice, there may generally be as little as three just process times recorded during a process recipe. In practice, there can only be one just process time per recipe, because in practice, usually only one process recipe step uses, for example, an etching process with endpoint detection. When the just process parameter is zero, it means that the endpoint was not called. In this case, just process parameters are ignored by this function. If available, an SPC chart is generated for each non-zero just process parameter found at runtime. By default, the lower and upper control limits of this chart can set limits on the default “just process” SPC “chart” generated for this purpose. The SPC chart can be of univariate or multivariate data.

  Additional embodiments of the auto-created autoconfiguration system for the just process step period of the SPC chart can include any of the following: (1) Below, the just process is the time the endpoint was called There are, for example, 24 parameters that are defined as parameter values that are recorded once per step and that correspond to the maximum number of steps allowed in the current tool software in the APC system; May be available so that the just process can be selected as an available parameter for automatic SPC charting; (3) For each step where the just process parameter is not zero at runtime, the SPC chart is (4) Jar selected by it Process duration can be maintained in persistent and in-memory databases; (5) The GUI allows the user to change the control limits below and above the “just process” SPC “chart” (6) Context information (tools, process modules, recipes, steps, parameters, values, date / time) of each point sent to the “just process” SPC “chart” is an SPC chart May be available from the database; (7) the context information for each point sent to the Just Process SPC chart may be seen from the SPC chart; (8) at runtime violates the SPC run rules Each point is "alarm" (9) The available interventions and notifications performed on this alert can be similar to conventional SPC interventions and notifications; (10) The alerts provide context information for the wafer on which the alert occurred. And / or (11) default intervention and notification may be specified by “default intervention and notification for just process”.

  While only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will recognize that many variations are possible in the exemplary embodiments without departing from the novel advances of the invention. Accept easily. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an advanced process control (APC) system in a semiconductor manufacturing environment. It is a figure which shows the flowchart which describes the automatic structure of the APC system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart describing automatic creation of a statistical process control (SPC) chart according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart describing automatic calculation of control limits for an SPC chart according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (37)

A method of automatically configuring a semiconductor manufacturing environment system,
Generating an autoconfiguration script that activates a default value for input to the autoconfiguration program to execute the autoconfiguration program;
Executing the autoconfiguration script to generate a usable parameter file that is output from the autoconfiguration program and that identifies parameters for statistical process control (SPC) chart generation.   Further comprising: generating an autoconfiguration data file configured to be read by the autoconfiguration program and including at least one of a list of parameters and flags that can be used to override the default values. Item 2. The method according to Item 1. Generating at least one SPC chart for at least one of the available parameters;
The method of claim 1, wherein generating includes automatically creating the SPC chart for execution of the autoconfiguration script. Generating at least one control limit for the at least one SPC chart;
The method of claim 1, wherein the generating includes an automatic calculation of the control limit for execution of the autoconfiguration script.   The method of claim 4, wherein the control limit includes at least one of an upper control limit and a lower control limit.   The method of claim 4, wherein the control limit is automatically calculated once the required number of data points is achieved in the SPC chart.   The method of claim 6, wherein outliers of the required number of data points are removed.   7. The method of claim 6, wherein the control limit is calculated based on a mean percentage of the required number of data points in the SPC chart.   The method of claim 6, wherein the control limit is calculated based on a factor multiplication and a standard deviation of the required number of data points of the SPC chart. The upper control limit (UCL) is
Determined by UCL = mean + percentage * mean,
The lower control limit (LCL) is
9. The method of claim 8, determined by LCL = mean-percentage * mean. The upper control limit (UCL) is
UCL = mean + factor * determined by standard deviation,
The lower control limit (LCL) is
10. The method of claim 9, determined by LCL = mean-factor * standard deviation.   The method of claim 10, wherein the percentage is specified by a user.   The method of claim 12, wherein the percentage is specified using a spreadsheet.   The method of claim 12, wherein the percentage is specified using a GUI.   The method of claim 11, wherein the factor is specified by a user.   The method of claim 15, wherein the factors are specified using a spreadsheet.   The method of claim 15, wherein the factor is specified using a GUI.   The method of claim 6, wherein the required number of data points is specified by a user.   The method of claim 18, wherein the required number of data points is specified using a spreadsheet.   The method of claim 18, wherein the required number of data points is specified using a GUI.   The method of claim 6, wherein the required number of data points is the number of data points acquired during pre-population of an APC system. Configuring a run rule evaluation for the at least one SPC chart;
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising enabling the run rule evaluation.   The method of claim 22, wherein the run rule evaluation is configured by a user.   The method of claim 23, wherein the factors are specified using a spreadsheet.   The method of claim 23, wherein the factor is specified using a GUI.   7. The method of claim 6, wherein the automatically calculated control limit is determined for a current substrate run and is used to update an old control limit from a previous substrate run. The new control limit is equal to (1−λ) * the old value + λ * (the calculated value)
27. The method of claim 26, wherein λ is a filter constant and ranges from 0 to 1.   11. The method of claim 10, wherein the determined upper control limit (UCL) is determined for a current substrate run and is used to update an old upper control limit from a previous substrate run.   12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determined upper control limit (UCL) is determined for a current substrate run and utilized to update an old upper control limit from a previous substrate run. The new upper control limit is equal to (1−λ) * the old upper control limit + λ * (the determined upper control limit),
29. The method of claim 28, wherein [lambda] is a filter constant and ranges from 0 to 1. The new upper control limit is equal to (1−λ) * the old upper control limit + λ * (the determined upper control limit),
30. The method of claim 29, wherein [lambda] is a filter constant and ranges from 0 to 1.   11. The method of claim 10, wherein the determined lower control limit (LCL) is determined for a current substrate run and is used to update an old lower control limit from a previous substrate run.   12. The method of claim 11, wherein the determined lower control limit (LCL) is determined for a current substrate run and is used to update an old lower control limit from a previous substrate run. The new lower control limit is equal to (1-λ) * the old lower control limit + λ * (the determined lower control limit)
33. The method of claim 32, wherein [lambda] is a filter constant and ranges from 0 to 1. The new lower control limit is equal to (1-λ) * the old lower control limit + λ * (the determined lower control limit)
34. The method of claim 33, wherein [lambda] is a filter constant and ranges from 0 to 1.   The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one SPC chart is remotely accessible via the Internet.   The method of claim 4, wherein the control limit is accessible via the Internet.

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